Education, Health Promotion and International Development MA

The MA offers students the opportunity to extend and deepen their understanding of concepts, theories and issues related to international development, education and sustainable ways of promoting health, wellbeing and social justice.

Key information

Programme starts

September 2019

Modes and duration

Full time: 1 year

Part time: 2 years

Flexible: up to 5 years

Distance learning: available

Application dates

All applicants

Open: 15 October 2018

Close: 26 July 2019

Tuition fees (2019/20)

UK/EU:£8,680 (FT)£4,470 (PT)

Overseas:£18,790 (FT)£9,570 (PT)

Note on fees:
The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website. Fees for flexible, modular study are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session.

Location: London, Bloomsbury

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard is required, normally in social science, education or nursing - but a range of undergraduate programmes are excepted (including arts and humanities if the applicant can demonstrate an interest in and understanding of health promotion in their personal statement). In addition some appropriate experience in a low or middle-income country (a minimum of one month) is normally a condition of entry.

English language requirements

If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.

Compulsory modules

This module introduces a range of concepts from the social and political sciences that assist the understanding and analysis of the relationship between education, learning and international development in low and middle income countries. The module also explores critically the changing links between these relationships at individual, local, national, regional, international and global levels. It introduces and discusses issues of educational policy and practice in low and middle income countries. This module is also available on a distance learning basis beginning in the autumn term studied through virtual learning environment Moodle.

This module is for professionals and practitioners who are interested in promoting health and wellbeing through education in its broadest sense ï¿½ whether working in local communities, schools or other settings, and whether with statutory services or voluntary, civil society, private organisations or social enterprises. Key topics addressed include: global health issues, understandings of health and wellbeing, the nature and practice of health promotion, participatory practice, understanding power, evidence informed practice, project planning, preparation of funding proposals.

This is a core module for the MA Education, Health Promotion and International Development, but can be taken by all post-graduate students at the IOE. It can be studied by those from a range of backgrounds including education, counselling, health, social work, arts, community and social development, and related areas. You do not need to have a health or medical background to study this module.

Optional modules

A range of optional modules are available, including those listed below.

We also encourage students to select modules from across the UCL Institute of Education (IOE), subject to availability, including those related to education technology, effective learning, social policy, art education. Please discuss your module choices with your personal tutor so that you can build a modular programme relevant to your professional development.

This module critically explores complex interactions between education, armed conflict and state fragility. It examines the role of education in the formation and prevention of socio-political tensions in low and middle-income countries and provides an opportunity to debate the key political and sociological theories in the field of education and conflict studies. Students engage in the analysis of education both as an instrument that is complicit in reproducing socioeconomic divisions as well producing a critical mass of learners who resist inequalities and social injustices. The multitude of ways violent conflicts and state fragility impact upon marginalised groups, including children, the intersection with inequalities associated with poverty, gender and ethnicity, and the gender dimensions of conflict, are also considered.

In addition to formal lectures and seminars on the module, students will also be encouraged to participate in institutional visits and engage with the work of various international non-governmental organisations that support education in low and middle-income countries. This will not only provide an opportunity to gain insights into current policy debates and development priorities in the field but also a networking opportunity with practitioners and policy makers. A large number of our students who come from conflict-affected societies or with an experience in such environments create a unique learning space on the module.

This module will examine the relationship between education (primarily at the level of schooling), state formation and patterns of economic growth in selected Asian countries and regions. It will be informed by a critique of various concepts of 'development', and will focus in particular on controversies relating to the significance of trends such as globalisation, cultural identity and autonomy in the developing world. While it will feature discussion of the relationship between education and economic development, the conceptualisation of 'development' adopted here will extend beyond a concern with GDP and poverty reduction, to broader considerations of the role of education in the search for Asian models of 'modernity'.

Key themes will include the role of skills formation strategies in the East Asian 'Economic Miracle', the contribution of education to nation-building and identity formation, and the implications of globalisation (both cultural and economic) for education policy in Asia. A particular focus will be the tension in education policies in China, India and elsewhere between an elitist pursuit of high skills seen as crucial to competitiveness in the 'global knowledge economy', and the promotion of basic education for the masses with a view to fostering greater equality of opportunity and 'social cohesion'. The dangers inherent in the relationship between education (particularly schooling) and nationalism in East and South Asia are another major theme of this module.

The module provides an international perspective on collaborative education planning, governance and administration within and between non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and inter-governmental organisations (IGOs, bi-lateral agencies), the private sector, and governments. It considers conflicting demands on education and ways to put new ideas into action, working from an examination of how decisions are made, to how they are implemented. Dilemmas regarding resource allocation and dealing with corruption and violence are explored. In two problem-based case studies at the end of the module, participants look at significant contemporary issues and possible education planning approaches.

This module focuses on low and middle income countries only. Students should be aware of this before joining the module, and be able to bring experience / knowledge of low and middle income country contexts.

This module aims to link work in education and international development with insights from gender and education and relate these to educational policy and practice. It is designed to develop an understanding of the circumstances in low and middle income countries, under which gender affects rights to, rights in and rights through education. The module looks at the gendered dimensions of processes of teaching and learning. It considers sexual divisions in education and the gendered political economy of family, work, political action and cultural production. Particular attention is given to gender and violence in school settings. Throughout the module there will be a concern to explore gender sensitive strategies and alternative approaches in education to overcome social division and inequalities.

The module aims to encourage a critical examination of key debates concerning theory, research and practice in the field of gender and education. The module will engage with a number of key debates in the field, including: feminist theory and methodologies in educational research; analysing gender and educational policies; researching sexualities, femininities and masculinities; pedagogical approaches; gendered behaviour; educational achievement and more. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding how gender, sexuality, race and class intersect in shaping educational experiences and outcomes.

The module will draw out important issues relating to professional practice in international contexts, providing teachers, researchers, leaders and managers, and those working in non-government organisations a forum for investigating their own interests in the field of gender and education.

This module will look critically at current theories, policies, practice and approach to learning and teaching in the context of education for all (EFA). It will provide participants with an awareness of political, social, cultural and linguistic contexts in which teaching and learning take place. It will analyse challenges faced by governmental and non-governmental agencies in providing quality education for all. It will examine debates about planning and selection of knowledge, especially as related to teacher education and curriculum development systems in developing contexts. It will also consider different approaches to assessment of learning and consider the implications and effects on teaching.

This module explores the relationship between children's rights, professional practice, and contemporary theories of childhood and society. It provides an understanding of sociological, socio-legal and political theories of children's rights and citizenship, and includes critical debates about international children's rights conventions and their applicability in different contexts and countries.

Learn about the rights and responsibilities of people who work with children and young people.

Hear from internationally renowned academic experts in the field of children's rights - past speakers include Gerison Lansdowne and Priscilla Alderson.

Make connections with leaders in national and international third sector organisations working in the field of children's rights - past guest speakers include Save the Children, Child-to-Child, and Action Aid.

Watch international films about childhood and children's rights, and visit the Foundling Museum in London to explore adult-child relations in history.

Meet peers from around the world working in the field of children's rights, often leading to networks and collaborations sustained far beyond the module.

Explore your own area of interest or professional practice in relation to the rapidly developing field of children's rights under the tutelage of expert module tutors.

This module will provide participants with an introduction to a range of research approaches and methods. They will also be able to engage in specialist issues and look in detail at sourcing, generating and analysing specific kinds of extant and new research content. These will include autobiographies, biographies, documents, interviews, life histories, media and multi-media texts, narratives, observations, oral histories, philosophical arguments, statistics and conceptual analysis, photographs and other visual representations, statistics and numeric data. Reading of original source texts of key studies will provide participants with the opportunity to interrogate the changing and contested nature of education research.

The module is designed to be both multi- and inter-disciplinary, exposing all students to approaches to research from across the foundation disciplines of history, philosophy and sociology. Participants will be invited to explore the sorts of questions that might be asked, and answered, by education research. Moving on, we will think about the implications of these questions for designing research as well as engaging, or even influencing education policy and practice. The role of the researcher, her/his relationship with the researched, and the ethical dimensions of this will be key considerations.

The aim of this module is to provide a general introduction to social research, advancing students' ability to recognise, describe and appraise different types, principles and practices of research in education and the social sciences. As well as critically reading research, participants gain first-hand experience in and reflect critically on doing research. The following topics will be considered:

purposes of research

theory and research

research ethics

research questions

research designs

data collection methods

qualitative data analysis

quantitative data analysis

selection and representation in research

academic literature

judging the quality of research.

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of up to 20,000 words or a report of 10,000 words

Teaching and learning

The programme is taught through a combination of lectures, participatory and interactive groupwork, online learning and individual tutorials. Assessment is through coursework, taking the form of 5,000 word assignments or equivalent, such as a 3,500-word project proposal + 1,500 word conceptual framework. The small-scale research study is assessed by way of a 20,000-word dissertation or 10,000-word report

Fieldwork

Fieldwork is not a compulsory part of the programme. However, students are encouraged to draw from their professional or voluntary experience as well as the ideas encountered during the programme to write critically and cogently for different audiences. The small-scale research study usually takes the form of a combination of desk-based research (a literature review) and fieldwork.

Placement

Placements are not routinely part of the programme. But good links have been established between the programme and UCL’s Volunteering Services Unit (http://uclu.org/services/volunteering-at-uclu). Some students have also taken part in the UCL ChangeMakers programme (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/changemakers). Taking part in these programmes can provide those studying in London with valuable international development-related experience. That said, both on-campus and distance learning students are encouraged to bring their own interests and concerns into their programme, helping to make it personally relevant and professionally significant.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

Careers

Graduates of this Master's degree have been engaged:

as policy-makers and advisers in government ministries and departments

as policy advocates and programme managers in international NGOs and development agencies

as social research consultants

as teachers and lecturers in schools, colleges and universities

as international development consultants

in doctoral study (either on PhD or EdD programmes).

Employability

Graduates of this Master's degree have used the academic and professional expertise gained through the programme to:

set up and manage an NGO or consultancy

prepare successful project and research proposals

develop new reporting procedures adopted throughout their organisation

gain employment as consultants

take on new roles and responsibilities within an organisation

transfer their expertise into international development

engage policymakers, practitioners and members of the public through research-informed practice.

Why study this degree at UCL?

This unique Master's programme provides students with opportunities to explore and examine the links between three academic and professional fields - education, health promotion and international development. It encourages a consideration of the ways that these fields are both distinctive, yet inter-related, and how evidence-informed practice might best contribute to working across professional boundaries, enhancing wellbeing and advocating for social justice.

Students learn alongside tutors who hold a breadth and depth of expertise in education, health promotion, social research and international development and who have professional experience in national and international contexts. Tutors are active in research on areas related to physical and emotional health and wellbeing, international development, refugees, young people, gender and sexuality, teaching and pedagogy and curriculum development.

The UCL Institute of Education is home to the Centre for Education and International Development (CEID), which comprises a team of internationally recognised experts in international development and education and which has nurtured world leaders in educational practice and research for over 85 years.

The centre has extensive experience and expertise in education-related research and practice in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Themes addressed include equality and human rights, gender, migration, race, health and wellbeing, sexuality, disability, social class, conflict and peacebuilding.

Linking research, policy and practice, the result is an extraordinarily powerful learning community.

Who can apply?

This programme welcomes professionals and practitioners from a range of backgrounds in health, education, health promotion, arts and humanities, anthropology, psychology, sociology (and social sciences in general), nursing, medicine, as well as in social development in low- or middle-income countries. The programme encourages applications from those with substantial experience in low- and middle-income countries, as well as those with minimal experience in these country settings but who would like to extend and deepen their understanding of research, policy and practice in these contexts

Each year, at the end of the summer term, students are encouraged to participate in this two-week programme offering the chance to put their studies in a global context, learn new skills and see the world differently.